Report: IRS Obamacare enforcer put on administrative leave

With all of the scandals hitting the IRS these days, you almost have to feel sorry for them.

Almost, but not quite.

Buzzfeed reports that a key official in charge of overseeing President Obama's health reform law implementation, as well as another staffer, have been "put on leave for accepting more than $1,000 in free meals and other items at a 2010 conference."

The IRS informed congressional staff investigating the agency that Fred Schindler had been put on leave for accepting the gifts. A second unnamed staffer in the division was also put on leave for accepting the gifts, the aides said.

Schindler is the deputy for Sarah Hall Ingram, who is heading up implementation of the Affordable Care Act for the IRS. Ingram has come under scrutiny recently because she oversaw the division of the IRS which targeted conservative organizations seeking nonprofit status.

According to congressional sources, the suspensions appear to be the first examples of employees being punished as part of a separate scandal over the service’s spending on conferences. One congressional source said it also appears the free meals and gifts were accepted at the same 2010 conference during which participants filmed a Star Trek spoof video.